


Worse Than A Thief

by Mawgon



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Explicit Language, M/M, Prostitution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-28
Updated: 2015-10-08
Packaged: 2018-04-23 21:07:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4892287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mawgon/pseuds/Mawgon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nori would have his family believe that he is a thief. The truth is worse. Dori, who is just so able to cope with the suspicion that his brother is a thief, would die of shame if he knew what Nori actually does in order to pay for Ori's apprenticeship. Ori ... sweet, innocent Ori would cry.<br/>They can never know. Hiding his "job" gets increasingly difficult, as Nori's "customers" are not of the polite sort. Nor are they gentle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Fill for Kink Meme Prompt: http://hobbit-kink.livejournal.com/4373.html?thread=9136149#t9136149
> 
> "Nori knows that his and Dori's jobs don't bring in enough money to feed them and Ori as well as pay for Ori's education. The way he see's it, they're out of options. He can either go into a life of crime, and risk his freedom and possibly his life, or go into the allowed(but not accepted) life of a prostitute
> 
> He REALLY doesn't want to do it, but they're close to starving and He's out of options, and because he doesn't want Dori to know he keeps it quiet, not telling him exactly WHERE the money's coming from."
> 
> I changed this a bit so that prostitution is technically illegal, but the guards don't really give a shit about it.

The worst thing was not the actual fucking. That he had gotten used to after a while. Or rather, he had learnt how to deal with it. Separated his mind from his body to the point where it didn’t matter anymore what was done to his body. 

What was worse was that the punters complained about their wives. Who claimed to have headaches. And then they expected him to nod and pretend sympathy. If he pitied anyone, it was the wives, whose husbands went to a hooker. 

They treated him like he was a thing, and then expected to be treated like dwarves. Disgusting. He hated them all, he truly did, but it was the only way to feed his family. 

 

Such were the thoughts that ran through Nori’s head when he curled into a whimpering ball in a streetcorner. His latest “customer” didn’t want to pay, and Nori had made the mistake to take offense.   
He was no fighter. He’d be dead in a few moments. 

“Excuse me, sir.” 

If he could have felt any more hopless, he would have, then, when he heard that level and emotionless voice. “Sorry that scum molested you.”

 

He was pulled to his feet, handcuffs were shut around his wrists. 

City guard. Now, he would not just be dead, Dori and Ori would also know that he was not a thief but ... worse. 

His nose was bleeding. He had not even noticed it breaking, as his face ached everywhere. 

When he carefully raised his gaze, he saw the trademark haircut – shaven at the sides, standing up in the middle. 

He knew that guardsman. Had evaded him a couple of times. Not the brightest, apparently. Still, with his wrists handcuffed behind his back, escaping even a dumb guardsman was not possible. 

The future looked rather bleak. It started to look even bleaker when he was pushed upwards some stairs leading to a massive stone building with barred windows. 

“Aril, fetch the healer. He’ll need one when I’m done with the questioning.”

Nori froze. No. Not that! He wouldn’t say a thing. Never ever tell them his real name. 

He was already making plans for suicide when he was dragged into a cell, which was then bolted shut from the outside. There was a small noise as the handcuffs were opened and removed. 

Alone in a cell. That was an improvement. Commiting suicide should be possible, here. 

“What did you do?”

He sat down on the wooden board that was attached to the wall, and glared at the guardsman. 

“Come on, tell me ... Aaaaarrrgh!”

The scream resounded on the ancient stone walls. Was the guardsman crazy? Oh Mahal, how much worse could it get?

“Sorry about that.” The guardsman smiled. “I get those seizures. So, what did you do? I need to write down what you did, so it would be good to have something.” He patted a notebook he had just taken from a table in the sparsely furnished room. “So?”

“Nothing.”

“Ah, but Lord Ramil seemed rather upset. You must have insulted him. Mayor insult to a noble. Sounds plausible” The guard scribbled something into his notebook and clapped it shut. “I suppose we should keep you in custody until tomorrow.” 

Just when Nori thought he could nto get any more confused, the healer arrived, followed by the young guard that had been adressed as Aril. 

“I’m done with the questioning. Have a look at him”, the guardsman with the funny haircut said. 

“Are you sure he confessed everything?”

The eager gleam in the young dwarf’s eyes sent cold shivers down Nori’s spine. That one liked inflicting pain. He had been able to avoid that kind of punter ... so far. But he had been warned more than once, so he knew what signs to look out for. 

“Aye, very sure. You can go home now, your shift is almost over. Young lads need their sleep, and the captain will never know, aye?”

Nori tensed. The guards seemed very friendly with each other ...

But then, Aril’s lazyness apparently won against his desire to inflict pain, and he agreed to the suggestion. Thank Mahal! One guard less, any maybe the other one was not as bad. 

Or maybe nothing had improved. After all, healers knew how to cause pain ...

“Do something about his nose, Óin, will you?”

The healer hummed as he arranged his instruments on the table. “You sure he wants that? Those types usually want a crooked nose, to help with their street cred, as they call it.”

“Not in his line of work, they don’t.”

Nori winced. So the guard had noticed him earlier. Or noticed the yellow flower in his hair ... no, he had lost that during the beating. 

“Ah. Wouldn’t have taken him for the unobtrusive type, with that hairdo.”

“Besides, I don’t care what he wants. If he leaves this cell, it will be looking like a law-abiding citizen. Who had his broken nose properly set, as any sane dwarf would.”

“If you say so, Dwalin, if you say so ...” The healer turns around, finally looking at Nori. “What do you say lad? Want your wounds properly dressed?”

He stared into the healer’s eyes. Finding nothing threatening there, he nodded. “Please, sir.”

“Well then. Dwalin, if you would open the cell?”

The cell door creaked open, and the healer grabbed his nose. It hurt like hell, and there was an ugly noise, but as soon as that, it was over. 

“There you are. A perfectly unremarkable nose, or it’ll be when healed. How are your ribs?”

Even though his ribs hurt like hell, they seemed to be all in place. The healer told him to breathe deeply in spite of the pain, as doing otherwise might lead to infection. 

When the healer left, Nori felt utterly confused. 

“Fancy a cup of tea?”

Now he was even more confused. “What?”

“A cup of tea. You look like you need one, after all you went through.”

“Yes please?” 

The tea was strong, tasted like the teapot has never been washed, but even so, it reminded him of home, and Dori, who would be offering him a cup of tea just at that very moment. 

Dori. And Ori. They were worried sick, for sure. But it was not as if he could do anything about it. 

“Do you feel up to eating something?”

He nodded carefully, and Dwalin left, only to return with a steaming bowl of porridge. Nori’s mouth watered at the sight. 

It was not the was starving at home, really not. They just made sure Ori got everything he needed, and that meant they could not eat as much as they wanted. Merely that. 

Eating was uncomfortable with the splint on his nose, but he managed. Sleeping, however, was difficult already with his hurt nose, the hard board for a bed (even though there was enough straw to render it halfway comfortable) didn’t help, and worse of all was the fact that Dwalin just would not leave. 

It was his turn to guard the prison, apparently, but Nori found himself thinking that really, Dwalin could guard another part of the prison. Even if that was empty. 

Nori was not stupid. He could tell that Dwalin had seen him before and just not bothered to arrest him. He could also tell that Dwalin had made Aril believe that he was torturing the prisoner. Dwalin was not dumb, nor crazy. He was ... kind? 

Ever since entering his new “job”, Nori had become more and more distrustful of all dwarves who weren’t family. Especially males. It disgusted him, the many family fathers who would pay for his body, with money that should go towards feeding and clothing their wives and children. 

Not that Nori never wasted money, but that was different. He just wanted to get rid of the dirty money, fast. And buying lavish gifts for Dori and Ori was a way of relaxing, putting his mind at ease after a dreadful day. Most of his days were dreadful. 

Dwalin could not possible be genuine.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, a lot of things are only implied, because ... well, I have just eaten and I want the food to stay where it belongs, and also, I am not in a mental state where I could handle descriptions of extreme violence. So there, have a nice fuzzy hurt/comfort chapter with all the cruelty only implied.   
> If you have a very active imagination, read with caution.

“Good morning.”

Nori jumped to his feet. Where was he?

“Off you go.” A guard he didn’t recognize opened the cell door. “Damn nobles and their hurt pride”, he mumbled, as he led Nori out of the building. “We could do better things with our time.”

 

When he arrived at home, Dori was still awake, sitting at the kitchen table, eyes red. “Nori!” he hissed. “Where have you been?!”

“You don’t want to know.”

“Your nose - “

“Will heal. Now, go to bed. I’ll fix breakfast for Ori.”

Ori needed a good breakfast, as he would only have his packed lunch to eat until afternoon. The apprenticeship as a scribe was a fortune they wouldn’t have dared hope for, not their family. Nori couldn’t even read. If all went well, Ori would be the first member of their family to learn a proper trade – not just spinning wool and flax, which had made Dori’s fingers raw and bleeding before Nori had decided he needed some other means of getting the money. 

 

As long as his nose was healing, Dori didn’t let Nori out of the house. He grudgingly agreed that he shouldn’t be out of the house – it was not as if he’d attract a lot of “customers” with his splinted nose anyway. 

However, staying at home meant he could only help with the spinning, which he wasn’t half as good at as Dori, and which didn’t bring in much money, anyway. 

It was not long after this enforced break that a tempting offer was made to Nori. A group of men wanted to share him among them, and they offered to pay very well. 

In hindsight, he should have known they would not be gentle. He should have known there would be no stopping it when they had started. 

He should have known he would be almost dead, bleeding from injuries he didn’t even want to know the extent of. 

He should have known he would be thrown out on the street, and arrested for prostitution. 

Strong arms lifted him up and he was thrown over a broad shoulder. Nori barely noticed. His thoughts were only of the money, which would be taken away by the guard, and then he would not be able to work for another couple of weeks, and not be able to explain it to Dori, and ...

“Why do you do it? You know it is dangerous, and no money can be worth that.” 

Nori recognized the voice. Dwalin’s. “I have family”, he murmured, wincing from the additional pain this caused. 

 

He passed out from the pain somewhere during, and when he came to full consciousness again, he was not in a prison cell, but ... he looked around. A table. He was reasonably sure he was on a kind of table. 

A face appared in his view. “Let’s have a look at your injuries.”

It was the healer from before ... Óin was his name, if he remembered correctly. “They’re in places you don’t want to see”, he mumbled. 

“I have seen everything at least once, be assured.” The healer removed his clothes, and Nori just went numb, as he always did. It was like watching what was happening to his body from outside. 

Óin did, as he had announced, have a look at his injuries. Aside from a disapproving frown, he didn’t even seem surprised. He washed the injuries with herbal infusions, gave Nori a piece of wood to bite on and sewed the largest wounds, then treated them with salves. “You should fast for the next couple of days. Where do you live, lad?”

“Nowhere.”

“Nonsense. Dwalin told me you had family. Where are they?”

Dwalin. The damned guard was nowhere to be seen. “Somewhere.”

Óin nodded. “They don’t know what you do for a living?”

He didn’t reply to that, and it was not necessary, anyway. 

“Dwalin might have an empty prison cell for you.”


	3. Chapter 3

Dwalin did, indeed, have a prison cell. He carried Nori to it, gave him some extra straw and blankets, and locked it securely. 

“My shift ends soon, but I will keep the key. Aril won’t go here unless he expects to be allowed to torture someone, and if he does ... well, he won’t find the key. Just keep out of his way.” Dwalin indicated the part of the cell where there was wall instead of bars, and a bucket for obvious purposes was placed. “I’ll give you enough water to make it until my next shift.”

Nori nodded. 

“I will just write that you have been taken into custody because you were drunk and needed sobering up, aye?”

Again, he nodded. His mouth still ached, and talking, he had noticed, was not a good idea. 

 

When he woke up, late the next morning, Dwalin was already back. His entering the cell and putting a bowl of broth next to Nori’s makeshift bed must be what had woken him. 

“You need to drink a lot” Dwalin said ... gently. Yes, maybe that was the right word. 

He put a piece of straw into the broth. “Drink through that”, he advised. “So you don’t have to open your mouth.”

Using the straw hurt, too, but less so than opening his mouth, and the broth was perfect temperature, just nice and hot enough to be filling, and not so hot that it would burn his mouth – although he would have liked to burn his mouth. It was just so disgusting, it always, was, and he didn’t even have the opportunity to distract himself by spending his hard-earned money.

The money. He froze, then relaxed. The poach on his belt was still heavy with coin. 

Maybe Dwalin really was trustworthy, after all. 

 

The guard spent most of his time in the cell tract, again. Though this time, he talked to Nori. About his childhood, how he had decided to become a guard (to make the city a safer place) and so on. It was a welcome distraction. 

Talking about families reminded Nori that his own family must be worried sick. Dwalin seemed nice, so maybe ...

“Let me go, please?”

Dwalin looked at him. “I’d let you go anytime, if I thought you were able to walk. Are you?”

“I must.” He got up and tried. It hurt like dragon fire, but he could do it. 

“If you would allow me to carry you ...”

“No!” 

Even though he thought that maybe he could trust Dwalin, it was not worth the risk. “Thank you, though. I’ll pay you back. Once I’m healed.”

“Pay me back? You have noth ...” Dwalin stopped speaking, an expression of utter disgust spreading over his face. “Thank you, but no thanks.”

Nori was not sure whether to be relieved or insulted. He was not that ugly. Dwarves and Men paid for ... but they didn’t pay for his beauty. Mostly, they paid for the right to do with him as they wished. The Men certainly had. To them, any dwarf would have been good enough. 

He limped out of the cell and out to the street, where Dwalin walked next to him until they got to the next corner, where the guard had to turn back because he was on duty, thank Mahal. 

It was afternoon, the streets bright with sunlight. Some people turned to look at him, but no one talked to him. Finally, he arrived at the door of the flat he shared with his brothers. 

He could barely knock. 

Dori opened, looking even worse than the last time. “Nori! Thank Mahal you are ... you are hurt!”

There was no denying that. However, there also was no denying that he had earned quite a lot of money. After limping inside, he placed the pouch with coins on the table and opened it. 

To his surprise, nothing seemed to be missing. He would have thought that the healer would have taken quite a lot of money, but as he stapled the coins into heaps of ten, it became increasingly obvious that all was there. 

“Let me look at your wounds.”

“I went to a healer.” he mumbled, trying to not open his mouth too much. 

“Alright, then, go to bed.”

He didn’t refuse. It would be better to help with the spinning, but he couldn’t sit down in his present state, not without unbearable pain, and he didn’t want Dori to ask about that.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, Nori felt able to do some of the chores, cooking and cleaning. He didn’t think cleanliness was that important, but if he didn’t do it, then Dori would waste time doing it, so he could just as well do it himself. 

When Dori questioned him, he hinted he had gotten into a tavern brawl. Dori disapproved, but seemed to swallow the lie. 

The rest of the time, he laid on his bed, flat on his stomach, and let his thoughts wander. Often, they would wander to Dwalin. Somehow, he liked to think about the guardsman. Made him feel nice and safe ... somewhat like being wrapped in a warm blanket. Not that he did not feel safe at home, but somehow ... Dwalin seemed to emit a sense of safety. And ... decency. Alright, so his refusal of Nori’s offer did smart a bit, but on the other hand, Nori was glad Dwalin had not accepted. He would think less of the guard for it. Much less. And he did not want that. He liked to be able to believe that there were decent dwarves out there. 

 

One morning, he had just made breakfast for Dori and Ori (he himself still steered clear of solid food), when there was a knock at the door. 

Without a second thought, he went to open it, realizing only as he did so that they all were home, and no one had any business knocking. 

Outside stood Dwalin. 

He froze. How had Dwalin found out where he lived? What did he want? 

“This is awkward”, Dwalin said what Nori was thinking. “Actually, I wanted to speak to Ori. He is your brother?”

Nori shook his head, and just opened his mouth to deny any and all relation to Ori, when he heard steps behind him. “Dwalin!”

So they knew each other. How could he get out of this mess? Was it even possible to get out of this?

“Good morning, Ori. I just came to tell you that Balin has been taken ill, all of a sudden. I am afraid you will have to stay home today. We will send a messenger when he is well again.”

“Oh!” Ori shoved Nori aside in his excitement. “Is it very bad? Maybe I could visit sometime? Bring Master Balin some soup?”

“That would be very kind of you.” Dwalin smiled, and Nori forgot the awkwardness for a moment. Dwalin’s smile was gorgeous. 

“Do you have time for a cup of tea, Mister Dwalin, sir?”

“No, thank you. Maybe another time. Duty calls.”

 

When Dwalin was gone, Ori looked at Nori expectantly. 

“What?”

“You know Mister Dwalin from somewhere, don’t you?”

“He ... he may have been the one who arrested me for ... being drunk and disorderly.”

“Oh – I told him about you. You know, that you and Dori work so much.” Ori smiles innocently. “He said I could be proud to have such good brothers.”

Well. He would not think that anymore, now. 

“He will change his opinion, now that he knows you are my brother.”

If only. He would just think worse of Ori’s brother Nori, now that he knew which face to connect with the name.


	5. Chapter 5

Ori went to visit Balin, and Nori could do nothing against it. He just hoped Dwalin would keep his mouth shut about Nori’s “job”. 

His hope diminished with every hour that went by without Ori returning. It was almost evening when Ori finally returned, an empty pot in his hands, and a smile on his face. 

“Dwalin sends his regards.”

“To ... whom?”

“Why, you, of course! Just as I told you, he holds nothing against you and says you were just trying to make some money to enable me to pursue my education.” Ori carefully removed his boots before stepping into the flat. “Balin says I am learning fast and he will be able to raise my payment soon. When he is recovered, that is. He gave me some work to do at home, so he can continue paying me while he is sick, by the way – I hope that is alright with you?”

“Sure.” They still had some of the money he had sacrificed his health for. 

His head spun. There was a warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest. Dwalin thought well of him – was it possible? According to the general opinion, he was the lowest scum that ever walked the earth. His “clients” certainly treated him like it. But Dwalin ... Dwalin indeed treated him like a hard-working dwarf who deserved help. 

“Did you talk about me much?”

“Well, he wouldn’t tell me the details of arresting you, so I just told him what you are like at home ... I hope you don’t mind?”

Nori didn’t really know if he minded. It really was not Dwalin’s business, but on the other hand, he did nothing illegal at home, so ... “No, don’t worry.”

 

Balin recovered slowly enough to warrant another visit, after which Ori proudly reported that he had invited Dwalin for tea. 

“He said he’d come, as soon as Balin is recovered, provided my brothers don’t object. You don’t, do you?”

“Why would we? It’s a step up in society”, Dori replied, too quickly for Nori to get a word in. “Oh, don’t look at me like that, Nori. It can’t hurt to have friends among the guards.”

“... right.”

It was not that he didn’t want to see Dwalin. Really not. Just ... one wrong word, and they would know what he really did, and he wouldn’t be able to look them in the eyes afterwards. 

Of course, he could not tell them that. So Dwalin came for tea. And ate lots of cookies. Admired Dori’s knitting and Nori’s cross-stitch work, and was altogether the nicest visitor they had had in ages. Not that they had many, what with Dori being so fussy and well-mannered, not to mention sensitive that he didn’t really mix well with equally poor people, most of whom were of a rougher sort. 

Ori made a habit of inviting Dwalin, and surprisingly, everything went well. 

 

Finances, however, did not go well. Which was why Nori found himself back on the street. He had tried spinning, he really had, but the truth was that he couldn’t do it anymore. His thoughts would wander and go to places he didn’t want them to go when he spent too much time at home, without anything to distract himself. 

One might find it rather absurd that doing the very thing of which he did not want to think seemed easier, but ... at least it didn’t require any real attention on his part. 

“I don’t like your hairdo.”

Nori stared at the dwarf in front of him. Dwalin. He was not usually so rude. Maybe he was drunk? It was too early in the evening for that, but who knew ... “That’s not your business.”

“It could easily be improved. Allow me?” Dwalin raised a hand. 

So maybe he did have something stuck in his hair? That would be rather embarassing. “Alright.”

However, the thing Dwalin took out of his hair was the yellow blossom, the very thing that marked him as prostitute. 

“Doesn’t suit you. Here’s something better.” He dropped something in Nori’s hand. Something small and cool, metal. A silver bead. A courting bead. 

The warm feeling in his chest exploded. To have Dwalin there all the time, or, well, almost all the time, to chat with him over breakfast, to sit in front of a nice warm fire with him ... and then go to bed ...

“I cannot accept.” He handed the bead back to Dwalin. “I am very flattered and all, but I can’t.”

Dwalin nodded slowly, pocketed the bead, and swallowed visibly. “Still. You don’t have to do this. Your brother is doing fine, he’ll get a well-deserved raise in pay. Your brothers wouldn’t want you to do this.”

“Please don’t tell them!” It was only just then that he realized Dwalin could just make him marry him. By threatening to reveal his dirty secret ...

“I won’t. But ... please. People in your ... line of work don’t tend to live long. I would know. Think of your brothers.”

Dwalin left, and not long after that, so did Nori. Dwalin was right. Nori should give honest work another try. After all, had he not taken the “career” path he had, he might be at home, just scraping by, but the thought of having Dwalin in his bed would not make him want to throw up, or run away, or both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some people have Ori pay for the apprenticeship, but I think it should be the other way round, because he does valuable work and I don't want to portray Balin as exploiter. For similar reasons, Dwalin and Balin are not well off, either.   
> (Dwalin's job was heavily inspired by Pratchett's novels about Ankh Morpork, and there, the Night Watch is in a very bad shape ... and Dwalin gets paid accordingly, too.)


	6. Chapter 6

Dori was surprised but pleased to see him back home so early. He was even more pleased when Nori announced he would try to stick to spinning, as long as they could make the money last. 

It was hard, even moreso as Dwalin didn’t visit anymore. Now, though, Nori had something pleasant to think about whenever his bad memories tried to come back. He still produced perhaps a quarter of the yarn that Dori did, but with Ori’s income they managed. 

A couple of weeks later, Ori eyed Nori suspiciously when he came home. “Nori – did you have a fight with Dwalin?”

“Fight? No, what would make you think that?”

“I invited him five times, now, and every time he came up with an excuse. He is very busy, I know that, but I do wonder ...” Ori frowned. “There is something, isn’t there, Nori?”

Nori sighed. “Well, you see ... he, um, sort of, asked to court me, and I could not ...”

“He what?” Dori’s knitting needles hit the tiled kitchen floor with a metallic noise. “Nori, I thought you liked him!”

“I do! I just ... it is ...” He could not tell them the truth. “He deserves better.”

Ori and Dori exchange glances, and Nori knew immediately that he used the wrong excuse. 

“Alright, I’ll talk to him.” He would explain Dwalin the whole thing, humiliating as it was, and beg him to keep up appearances. 

Apparently, Dwalin had to work that night. Ori suggested to just go with him in the morning, and Nori agreed. Not that he had any choice. 

So, in the first light of dawn, they walked to the slightly better part of the city. They came to a rather nice-looking workshop. 

“That’s their living room, too”, Ori explained when he pushed open the door. “They aren’t so much better off than us.”

Balin greeted them with a smile. “And you must be Nori. Did you want to talk to me, or Dwalin?”

“Um.” Nori stared at his shoes. “Dwalin, actually ... if it is no inconvenience ...”

“No worries. I will just go and wake him. Ori, can you take care of the shop for a moment?”

“Of course.” Ori puffed his chest a little, likely without noticing. 

“There is really no need to wake him”, Nori protested. “I can just wait here.”

“That may be so, but I know he would not want to keep you waiting. Let me.”

Just when Balin had left, a customer entered and asked Ori for a letter, ordinary, no embellishment, just nice handwriting. It filled Nori with pride to see how expertly his little brother haggled over the price, keeping it at what seemed reasonably high, and told the customer when to return to fetch the finished letter.

Balin reemerged when the customer had left, and Nori suspected him of having timed his reapperance with the sound of the bell at the door. “Come in, Dwalin is ready.”

Dwalin, standing in what appeared to be a narrow hallway, was dressed, but his hair was hanging down the side of his head, and his eyes were sleepy. “Balin says you want to talk to me?”

The hope in his voice made Nori cringe. He didn’t want to do this to Dwalin. He really didn’t want ... but Dwalin would not want to watch him throw up, either. 

“Can we be heard outside?”

“Possible. Come.” Dwalin opened a door leading to what was obviously his bedroom. Nori hesitated, then told himself to not be silly and stepped in. 

“Ori asked me why you don’t visit anymore, and I ... I told him I rejected you because you deserve better ...”

Dwalin nodded. “But that is not the truth.”

“Not the whole truth ...” Nori whispered. “You know what I do ... did. I just. I cannot share my bed with you.”

Dwalin’s brow furrowed. “You don’t have a disease, do you?”

“No – I hope so, at least. It is ... I ... it would be exactly like with ... my ... clients, and ... I just ...” He intently stared at his shoes. 

“If that is the reason you rejected me ... you know I will not force you ... we can have two beds.” There was hope in Dwalin’s voice. It was heartbreaking. 

“I did not mean that. Sleeping is fine. I meant ...” He couldn’t even bring himself to say it. The words he was used to just didn’t seem to fit. Too crude, too offensive. 

“Listen. I’m not good with words. When I gave you that bead, I didn’t mean to say I expect ... Just wanted to show that I care about you.” A heavy hand was placed on his shoulder. “That I’d be there for you, no matter what happens. And of course I’d like to see you more often. If you ... if you like me back, that is, we can make this work. Any way you want.”

He raised his gaze. “I do. Like you, I mean. A lot, actually. But you deserve better. Someone who is not ... damaged goods.”

Dwalin leant his forehead to Nori’s. “I want you. Not someone else. Of course I would like to have met you earlier, to have prevented all this ... but there is no changing it now.”

Nori clears his throat. “So ... will you visit again?”

“I look forward to it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And they lived happily ever after ... or until the quest for Erebor, that is. I won't write out the domestic fluff, but be assured, it is there!   
> Hope you enjoyed the story!


End file.
